Enough !

We are into the fourth day of rain and the past 12 hours have been the heaviest rain I have ever seen here in Terrigal or indeed anywhere except in Hong Kong and that was in a typhoon. It is typhoon like here now. All night the wind has been howling and the sun louvres on the house whistle loudly in very strong wing. The rain is not falling -it is driving sideways. Fortunately we have no leaks so far. The house is shaking and the trees all around are bending. The enormous gumtree behind the house is a constant source of worry in these conditions.
Yes we desperately needed rain but we've had enough now. Surely the 6 months deficit has been reversed ?

Winter dawn

Just a tiny slither of the moon and the first light of the sunrise through bare branches at 6.00 am yesterday.The mornings are getting lighter but summer is still some time away although summer temperatures are forecast for next week. We've had some rain this week on the coast but nowhere near to make any difference to the dwindling reservoirs although more rain is forecast for tomorrow.  Inland the situation is desperate. The problem is we need weeks of rain to banish the drought and refill the dams and reservoirs.
Meanwhile our appalling government does not even recognise climate change yet alone the desire of the majority of the population for them to take some serious steps to reduce the country's carbon emissions and our contribution to the global problem through our coal exports.

At the end of the day.

It's almost a given that it rains heavily over the Easter weekend here on the east coast of Australia. Well, there is always the exception that proves the rule and this Easter is the exception. Beautiful warm days-27ºC- and not a sign of rain so far. Yesterday was grandchildren day and we took advantage of the weather to take the crew onto the rock shelf by Terrigal Haven-always a popular outing-when the tide is out.
The light was glorious this afternoon at 4.00 when I took this photo of the crowds still on Terrigal Beach. The sea must still be warm going by the numbers swimming.
This was taken with my Leica X Vario-a beautiful camera. Leica have stopped producing the X Vario-it was a poor seller-and it was much maligned at launch-so sad- -but the reality is that it really is an outstanding camera.
For balanced and fair comment on the X Vario search under Leica X Vario on the excellent Macfilos blog see MACFILOS
If you want to get into Leica ownership with an outstanding camera check out the X Varios for sale on eBay. Prices have come tumbling down so you can pick up a bargain.